Is steam lighter or heavier than air? Anyone ever heard of a hot steam baloon? I'm just curious if it is even possible. Thanks.
2007-02-21 13:21:57 · 8 answers · asked by rykker 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Steam is water, in the state of a gas. It's composition is the same as any other water, H2O
air is a mixture of different elements, just kinda floatin around together, mostly Nitrogen(N2), at almost 80% then Oxygen(O2) at about 18% then carbon dioxide, and several others
to see if water is heavier than air, one way to go, would be to add up the atomic mass of each molicule, and see how they pair up
Hydrogen's weight is just over 1, so 1 will do.
nitrogen is just over 14
oxygen is just under 16
and carbon is just over 12
water is H20, and when added together, the atomic mass is close to 18 (H+H+O =1+1+16=18)
air is a bit more difficult, Nitrogen Gas is N2 and is 28
Oxygen Gas is O2 and is 32
(the '2' mean their are two of them, and the mass of one molicule is double the atomic mass)
air is then about an 80-20 mix of the two
80 N2 = 2240
20 O2 = 640
add them up = 2880 = 100 molucules of 'air'
100 molicules of water has an atomic mass of 1800
(they need to be on like terms, 100 molicules of each seems to be a good point of reference here)
100 air = 2880
100 water =1800
by looking at these numbers, I would have to say air is heavier than water, or steam.
Hot Steam Ballon? possible, interesting, never heard of it!
To the comment about steam being a mix of air and water, consider this, cover a pot of water with an expandable gasket, that seals out the air, with no air in it, and boil it, that gas you get is still steam, but it has no 'air' in it. steam is just water, it's dispersion into another mixture does not turn the whole mixture into steam, whather the air 'dilutes' the steam.
absolute zero is -273. 15C, -20000 is not possible!
2007-02-21 14:24:07 · answer #1 · answered by shamus_jack 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water vapour as steam contains a lot of heat energy but it is saturated i.e. contains liquid water mist.
Heat decreases density, steam will rise due to this. It is lighter than air. Look at the water vapour leaving a cooling tower .. it is rising, this is due to the uplift of the thermal energy
Some way away from the tower, the vapour is cooling and condensing and begins to fall .. it is now heavier than air.
2007-02-22 04:44:30 · answer #2 · answered by Norrie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Air is lighter than steam. Steam is a gas formed by other elements combined with air. Saying steam floats above air, is a paradox.
2007-02-21 14:12:51 · answer #3 · answered by yazulqarnain 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Steam is not lighter than air per say, but because it is a gas at a higher temperature it rises through the colder air.
2007-02-21 13:27:21 · answer #4 · answered by Solace 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Steam is lighter, but it would be hard to have a hot steam balloon since the water vapor would probably condense to liquid water.
2007-02-21 13:31:45 · answer #5 · answered by K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Air is lighter than steam. First, you must know what is steam. Steam is water that is in a form of vapor due to high temperature. Therefore, water is water. Water will always be heavier than air.
Even if you managed to get air(NO2, O2) in solid form by colding it in extreme conditions (-20000 C), water (vapor) is still heavier.
2007-02-21 14:25:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
steam rises so it must be lighter or shall i say, less dense to be technical. so having a balloon full of steam would theoretically raise the balloon as long as the balloon/steam combo weighed less than the air it displaced
2007-02-21 13:26:38 · answer #7 · answered by hantrex 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it rises it " Has To Be Lighter" than the air around it.
2007-02-21 13:29:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋